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Ocean Park 26's Kevin Osborne takes an unusual spring break this year. A California Quadfecta. Surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and skiing all in one quick 4-day trip. Starting at his home break in Santa Monica and ending up in the snow covered slopes of nearby Mammoth Mountain. Along for the ride on his trip is his faithful dog, Ava and to get photos of the journey, his buddy Steve Rodriguez of Six12 Media.
Kevin and Ava pose in Santa Monica with equipment for the upcoming California Quadfecta (Surf, Skate, Ski, & Snowboard)
DAY 1 Surfing and Skateboarding
We started our Mammoth odyssey off with a surf at Ocean Park Beach in Santa Monica. Conditions were pretty good with 2-3" glassy waves rolling into the Bay. After catching a few, we jumped back in the truck and got started up the 405 to the 14, and eventually to the 395 into the Eastern Sierra Mountains.
On the Road: heading up U.S. Route 395 loaded with skis, snowboards, skateboards, photo equipment, and dog, with the Eastern Sierra Nevada in the background.
After a few hours of driving, and passing through the small towns of Lone Pine, Bishop, and Big Pine, we made our first stop at the Volcom Brothers Skatepark in Mammoth Lakes. This awesome skatepark, on Meridian Boulevard, is one of the coolest parks this author has ever ridden, with many free-form bowls, and natural landscape elements built into the park. Riders can hit large natural boulders, skate around giant living pine trees, and cruise through a number of smooth bowls, all with the beautiful snowy mountains in the background, and the clean, fresh air filling your lungs. This is a super fun stop and a great warm up for the slopes.
This shot shows why this is such a cool skatepark. This area of the park was built around an existing pine tree, and actually has part of a boulder sticking through the concrete that Kevin is turning above.
Another reason why this skatepark is so cool is that there are natural boulders all around that have been incorporated into the design of the park.
Kevin popping an ollie out of one of the many bowls.
Dropping into a bowl between two gnarly rocks at the lip.
Next up was dropping off our gear at our cabin and taking Ava the dog out for a romp in the snow and a walk through the town of Mammoth Lakes, before heading over to the Mammoth Main Lodge to pick up our lift tickets. The spring conditions were excellent, with over 50 feet of snow this year, all lodges were open, and all lifts were running. After checking out the Main Lodge and the Village, we picked up a pizza and headed back to the cabin anticipating a great day on the slopes.
DAY 2 Snowboarding
The next morning we had our boards and were on the snow with the first lift and heading to the top of the mountain. The snow coverage on the mountain was the best we have seen in seven years, and the boarding was great. We covered the whole mountain from the Eagle Lodge to the powder fields of the Backside. The crowds were very light and we barely waited in a lift line the whole day. We found a bunch of fun obstacles to hit, including the park areas and the super pipe. We even found some cornices and jumps that still had soft powder landings that we were sending it on.
It's the end of April, and the mountain is still covered deep with snow.
Lofting an air off of an ice cornice situated on top of a soft powder landing field.
Snowboarding. Jibbing off the top of a buried tree.
Another frontside air off of the ice cornice.
After hitting the Yodeler for some traditional cheese fondue and giant Bavarian pretzels, we headed back to cabin to hang with Ava and prepare for the next day's activities.
DAY 3 Skiing
Another clear sunny day greeted us as we started off at the Mill Lodge lift, with me on my skis and Steve boarding again. It was another great day on the mountain with us tackling some of the most difficult runs including Cornice Bowl, Dave's Run, Scotty's, and Monuments--all Black Diamond and Double Black Diamond runs. We again traversed the mountain to cover thousands of vertical feet during the day.
The obligatory shot at the very top of the mountain, but this time, with over 50 feet of snowfall, the sign is almost completely buried.
Heading down through the trees on the backside of the mountain.
Catching a little mid-mountain air.
Close encounter with the camera.
Coming down the steeps from the top of the mountain on Dave’s Run.
An overview of Mammoth Mountain and the Eastern Sierra.
This time at the end of the day we visited The Village area which boasts over ten excellent restaurants and bars. We finally landed at the Kitchen 53 after checking out a number of spots including the Alpenhof, the Smokeyard, and the Whitebark. We sampled some of the local Mammoth Brewery Golden Trout beer as we watched snowboard and ski videos on the 4K big screens, as we munched on poutine and burgers.
We finished off the night with me winning the Goggle Tan Competition in the Kitchen 53 bar, racking up major G.N.A.R. points, which was a very proud moment.
DAY 4 Downhill Skateboarding
On the way out of Mammoth the next day we pulled off the highway to get some dramatic skate shots with the huge Sierra Nevada in the background. You always see guys taking shots like these and we wanted to get our own, which Steve did brilliantly.
Kevin does a backside kickturn to control downhill speed.
A classic shot of Kevin rail grabbing a turn with an impressive mountain backdrop.
With a little four-wheeling on an unmaintained two-track road on the way back to the highway, we completed the California Quadfecta in style!
More info on Mammoth's Spring Season: Spring into Action Sports at Mammoth Mountain!
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